|
Recent
Articles |
Is Your Job Cramping Your Style? Consider Trading Down
Ever wondered why people trade down for a job when they are already settled in a high-profile job that pays them quite well? Many people trade down for a variety of reasons that include long-term career opportunities...
Online Impersonation & Personal Reputation...
Companies have been aware of the need for online reputation management, but today individuals need to be concerned as well. Just about every hiring manager will check out a prospective employee on...
Improving Your Career – A Contact Sport
Shaping Your Career. You need to have great career skills to climb the corporate ladder successfully. Career skills are also crucial if you want to switch jobs within your field. Your skills play a vital role in differentiating...
Stuck In A Job Search Rut?
It happens. You get all pumped up to look for a new job, get your resume and cover letter all spruced up and then…nothing. How do you put the excitement back in your job search? Remember Why You're Job...
|
|
|
07.03.07
Get Permission Before Interviews
 By
Dan Morrill
Robert Scoble and the Scoble Show is one of the more interesting things to watch if you are interested in what is happening in start up land, or what is neat new technology.
Robert though reports that one of the people that showed up on his show was fired for showing up on his show. We are all familiar with the "Fired for Blogging" syndrome, but now we have the "Fired for being on TV" syndrome that is only going to get worse long before it gets better.
Last night one of the people who've been on the ScobleShow (my video show) wrote me and told me he was fired for appearing on my show without PR permission. I won't tell you who that was since he's interviewing for a new position now, but it made me realize that when I aim my camera at someone that there are real consequences for doing so. Now, the guy in question should have known that would have pissed someone off. Most big companies, in their employment agreements, have in there that you aren't allowed to talk with the press unless given permission by the PR departments. Source: Scobleizer
Adding to the complexity of the problems is really what the net negative is for someone showing up, or writing something that is generally positive about the company. I work under a number of restrictions and I am well aware of them when I blog, there are some things I cannot talk about until Monday. Monday I am free of the majority of restrictions that I have blogged under for the last 2 years, which is a moment, I am really looking forward to.
The thing about the restrictions is that the things I would write are generally good things about some of the companies and situations that I have worked for, and how they have been a phenomenal experience to be there, see the work, meet the people, and show that there is a different viewpoint. I have been unable to write them because of the "you are not authorized". Which is cool, I accepted them, but the differentiators that we make between the press, blogging, and what PR tries to control has gotten to the point that it is so murky that it is hard to know where the lines are drawn without something explicit.
| Learn How We Increased Conversion By 816% and Become A Certified Online Testing Professional™ Click Here |
|
Companies want to control their images, there is nothing wrong with that, but the company needs to stop and think for a moment, if the overall impression is positive, and you fire the person anyways, it is a lot like the MPAA/RIAA suing their customers. Or the Dell lawyer or any other lawyer asking for a takedown, or the debacle over the AACS key and Digg, there is no end to the issue, and there is no end to the various routes that a company will take to control their image. PR and anyone else needs to stop and think about what the longer term damage is to the company's reputation.
If Robert had released the company name for the person that was fired, we would be all over that company in the blogosphere, and they would have a very hard time controlling the amount of negative press that would result. While Robert has the right to not name the company to keep his friend safe, I am sure that he is also getting a lot of pressure to release the company name. If and when that happens, the company in question is going to face a firestorm of criticism that will do more damage than one of their employees showing up on the Scoble Show.
It seems that companies are learning these kinds of lessons the hard way, and that is the hard part to understand. If it is this hard to learn about how to deal with modern media, how are they doing as a company in total, and are they really worth investing money in, in the longer run?
Comments
About the Author:
Dan Morrill has been in the information security field for 18 years, both
civilian and military, and is currently working on his Doctor of Management.
Dan shares his insights on the important security issues of today through
his blog, Managing
Intellectual Property & IT Security, and is an active participant in the
ITtoolbox blogging community.
|
